You're All I Need to Get By

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"You're All I Need to Get By"

Single by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
from the album You're All I Need
Released	April 1968
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA, Detroit, Michigan; 1967
Genre	R&B/soul
Length	2:38
Label	Tamla
Writer(s)	Nickolas Ashford Valerie Simpson
Producer(s)	Ashford & Simpson
Chart positions
#7 (US Pop Singles) #1 (Hot R&B Singles) #19 (UK Top 75)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell singles chronology
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1968)	"You're All I Need to Get By" (1968)	"Keep On Lovin' Me Honey" (1968)

"You're All I Need to Get By" is a hit for American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell released on the Tamla label in 1968.

"I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By"

Single by Method Man featuring Mary J. Blige
Released	May 2, 1995
Format	12" single, CD5"
Genre	Hip hop
Length	5:09
Label	Def Jam
Writer(s)	Nickolas Ashford Robert Diggs Valerie Simpson Clifford Smith
Producer(s)	RZA
Chart positions
#3 (The Billboard Hot 100) #1 (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks) #1 (Hot Rap Tracks) #1 (Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales) #12 (Rhythmic Top 40)
Method Man singles chronology
"Release Yo' Delf" (1995)	"I'll Be There For You" (1995)	"How High" (1995)
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"I'm Going Down" (1995)	"I'll Be There For You" (1995)	"You Bring Me Joy" (1995)

1 History
2 Overview
3 Credits
- 3.1 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original
- 3.2 Method Man and Mary J. Blige version
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Overview

[edit] The Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell original

Written by real-life couple Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, it became one of the few recordings in Motown that was not recorded with the familiar "Motown sound". Instead, "You're All I Need to Get By" had a more soulful and gospel-oriented theme surrounding it that was influenced by the writers sharing vocals in a church choir in New York. The song, recorded first separately by the two singers (reportedly to cut studio time and give time for the wheelchair-riddled Terrell to record while going over surgery to repair the malignant brain tumor that eventually killed her) and then overdubbed by Motown engineers and mixers to make it a Marvin and Tammi duet. Ashford and Simpson also sung background on the song's memorable vamp where they repeated the name of the song in the beginning and during Marvin and Tammi's verses.

[edit] Release and reaction

The original recording by Gaye and Terrell peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks, becoming one of the longest-running number one R&B hits of 1968, becoming the most successful duet recording of Marvin Gaye's entire career. Given its global appeal, it also reached #19 on the British singles charts in late 1968, staying there for nineteen weeks.

[edit] The Method Man and Mary J. Blige version

In 1995, rap artist Method Man teamed up with R&B singer Mary J. Blige to record the song "You're All I Need/I'll Be There", which interpolated samples from the original sung by Blige. Because of the samples, original writers Ashford and Simpson were credited with writing the hip-hop soul-styled song, which went to number three on the pop charts and number one on the R&B singles chart. The version also ended up at winning the duo the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Another version was released, which was produced by Sean Combs and repeatedly used a sample from The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Me And My Bitch" from his debut album, Ready to Die. ("Lie together, cry together/I swear to God I hope we fuckin' die together")

[edit] Other allusions to the song

Both major versions of this song were referenced in "All I Need" by Jay-Z when he says: "And all...I...need is a chick to hold a jimmy like/Meth and Mary, like, Marvin and Tammi"